Beverly Hills Brothers

Chapter 26

"What?" I asked, feeling my heart drop into my stomach. "Are you going to USC then?" He couldn't possible mean that he's leaving California, leaving me. "Actually-" He stopped and looked away as his eyes filled with tears. "Fuck." He squeezed his eyes shut and then looked back at me. "Sarah, I'm going to Princeton." I felt the air leave my lungs. I didn't know if I wanted to cry or pass out. I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't even know what to say. One of the two people I genuinely love in this world is moving across the country. "Please say something." Lyle said, reaching out for my hand. "What do you want me to say Lyle? I mean I'm happy for you. Princeton is hard to get into, but I can't say this is going to be easy." I said, still silently wishing this was some weird joke. "I think we both know my grades didn't get me into Princeton." he said and I shook my head. "Why isn't Stanford good enough for your dad?" I asked, knowing Jose was just doing this to make the family look better. "He wants me to experience real life, outside of California. I might hate him with every particle of my body, but he's not wrong. I do want to get out of here." he said and I nodded. I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. I knew he was miserable here, so was I, but he made it seem like there was nothing good here. "Have you told Erik?" I asked and he shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to tell you first." Lyle said, wiping his face and composing himself. He was never one to let his emotions linger for too long. A true product of his father.

 "So are you excited for the party on Saturday?" Lyle asked, swinging our intertwined hands between us as we walked back home. "Are you seriously thinking about your graduation party? You just told me you're moving across the country and you're thinking about a party??" I asked, shaking my head and smiling at him. "I'm not leaving for three more months. I would really like to enjoy the last summer we have all together." he said as we turned onto our street. "Are you not coming back next summer?" "I am, but you know what I mean." he said, laughing as we stopped at my driveway. "I love you Sarah." Lyle said, pulling me behind the bushes at the entrance gate. "And I love you Lyle." I said, putting my arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him. "Nothing will ever change how much I love you." Lyle said and we broke apart as a car drove past. "Goodnight bubs." I said and he jumped the fence into his yard and waved before walking into his house. I really didn't want to be in my room right now. The sun was starting to set and nothing sounded better than going for a drive along the coast. I needed some time to just think and realize what Lyle going to Princeton means for me and Erik. 

I pulled into my driveway around 11 and the lights were all off in the house. My father may be really strict sometimes, but other times it feels like he doesn't care at all about me. I climbed the tree up to my balcony and noticed a pile of something on my floor. I swore I had just put my clothes away earlier. I leaned down and noticed it was breathing. "Erik? What's wrong?" He looked up at me with a blotchy face and pulled me into his arms. He kept crying and started to hiccup. "Erik. Hey bubs. I'm here. I'm here. Shhh. Try to breathe with me." I said, putting one hand on his face and the other in his hair, knowing that calmed him down. 

After we took some breaths together, he started to calm down, but tears were still streaming down his face. I hated seeing him like this. His anxiety had been bad since the day we met, even before I knew what anxiety was. I wish I could just keep him safe and I wish I had the power to tell his father to back off. Erik always did the best he could and that was never enough for his father. I know his father was a big reason why he was so anxious all the time. Jose set these high standards for both his sons, but they seemed a lot more unattainable for Erik. 

Somehow I had ended up behind him, and he was cradled in between my legs with his back to my chest. He turned sideways so his legs rested on mine and held my hands tightly. "I thought you left me." he said, as his tears slowed down. "No of course not. Erik, why would you ever think that?" I asked, wiping some tears away from his face and he pushed his face into my hand and closed his eyes. "Lyle just told me about Pri-about what's happening and then I came over here and your car was gone and I thought I had no one. Who's going to protect me?" he whispered the end to himself, but I heard. Fresh tears were coming to his eyes, so I just pulled him closer to me and he didn't hesitate to cuddle into my chest. "Erik, if there is one thing you can count on, it's that I will never ever ever in a million years leave you. I plan on growing old with you. I will be by your side, no matter what. I will always stick with you. I promise I will always be with you. Always." I said, running my fingers through his hair. "I love you." he mumbled into my shirt. "I love you." I said, as I rested my cheek on his head as I felt him start to relax.